Joint for railway-rails



(No Model.)

F HERMAN JOINT FOR RAILWAY RAILS.

No. 504,981. Patented Sept. 12, 1893.

WITNESSES & .llttorney the invention.

NITED v TATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOINT FOR RAILWAY-RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 504,981, datedSeptember 12, 1893. Application filed March 9, 1893. Serial No, 465,272.(No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDRIOK HERMAN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Martinsville, in the county of Copiah and State ofMississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Jointsfor Railway-Rails; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side view of Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofsame. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line was Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is adetail view of the joint plate. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view ofthe joint, as seen from the inside of the rail.

This invention has relation to railway rail joints, the object being toprovide improved means for effecting a secure connection betweenadjacent rail sections; and the invention consists in the novelconstruction and combination of parts, all as hereinafter described andpointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the letters A, A, designate twoadjacent rail sections, which I have shown connected by my improvedjoint. Said joint comprises the outer vertical joint plate B, which isplaced against the joint portions of the rail sections, its upper edgebeing flush with the ball or tread of the rail, said ball or tread beingcut away as indicated at a, to receive said plate. Said plate lies flushagainst the web of the rail, and gradually increases in thickness towardits lower portion, where it joins the integral horizontal base or bottomplate 0, upon which rest the joint portions of the sections. The base Dof the rail is also cut away as indicated at b, to receive the plate.The base D at the inner edge of the rail is notched or cut away as shownat c, c, and these notches or cut-away portions receive tongues d, d, ofthe base plate 0, said tongues being bent upwardly into said notches,and over upon said base. The length of said notches should be about oneinch in excess of the width of said tongues, in order to give the railabout one inch movement for expansion and contraction.

F designates the inner fish or joint plate, which is connected with theouter p late B by bolts f. Should these bolts brcak,1t wlll be apparentthat the engagement of tongues d, d, and the shoulders of the notches c,c,w1ll prevent the rails from running, and will retain the safety andsecurity of the oint. lhe base or bottom plate 0 is spikedto the ties,and has also on its under surface transverse projections g, which aredriven into the ties, and serve to support the joint in case the boltsor spikes break.

In order to prevent the nuts on the oint bolts from becoming loosened bythe anof moving trains, I provide a locking device therefor consistingof a bar H of spr ng steel, securely spiked to the ties, and having aseries of notches, teeth or project1onsh,w1th which the nuts are turnedinto engagement.

Inasmuch as the outer joint plate is of greater thickness at the bottomthan at the top, the holes for the bolts should be formed at a slightangle, so that the nuts w1ll fit squarely against the said plate. Theoint plate B is usually about three feet in length, making a three tiejoint. It will be apparent that this plate will prevent the ends of therails from becoming battered, and prevents any jolt or jar as the wheelspass the 3011113.

A further advantage of the joint is that should the bolts break,together with the tongues d, d, the plate B will still preserve thecontinuity of the joint, even though the rails be drawn a considerabledistance apart.

Having described this invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1S

1. In a railway rail joint, the combination with the rail sections cutaway at the outer side at the base and tread, of the joint plateunderlying the joint and seated in said cut away portions of the railsections, and having its upper edge flush with the surface of the treadof said sections, the bottom plate integral with said joint plate andforming a seat for the joint portions of said rail sections, projectionson the under surface of the said bottom plate adapted to engage the tiesin addition to the usual spikes or bolts, tongues on the inner portionof said bottom plate bent into engagement with cut away portions in thebase of the rail sections, the inner fish plate bolted to the railsections and to the joint plate, and means for locking the nuts of saidbolts, substantially as specified.

2. In a railway rail joint, the combination with the rail sectionscut-away at the outer side at the base and tread, to receive the jointplate, of the joint plate seated in said cutaway portions and having itsupper edge flush with the surface of the tread, the bottom plateintegral therewith, the notches or cut-away portions in the base of saidsections at their inner sides, and the tongues on said bottom plate bentinto engagement with said notches, I 5 and of a. less width than thelength of said notches, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDRICK HERMAN.

Witnesses:

JOHN Z. TAYLOR, F. M. REMBERT.

